Colorado Avalanche Hurt Themselves In Game 1 And Nathan MacKinnon Knows It

With just one loss over nine games against the LA Kings and the Wild, the Colorado Avalanche were the clear favorites heading into the Western Conference Finals last night. Instead it was the Golden Knights who came out with an effortless win, and the Avs have nothing to blame but themselves.

Colorado fell into a 3-0 hole before mounting a late push, eventually losing 4-2. The deficit was not built by a Vegas Golden Knights team playing extraordinary hockey. It was handed to them by an Avalanche side that could not execute when it mattered most, and star center Nathan MacKinnon was in no mood to dress it up.

Nathan MacKinnon Pulls No Punches Over The Loss

MacKinnon was direct in his postgame assessment. "We just weren't sharp. Execution was poor from everybody," he told reporters. "We had chances. They didn't do a whole lot either. It was kind of a nothing game, and then they got a few goals. Really good team, obviously, but I thought we did a lot of damage to ourselves."

He returned to the same theme repeatedly throughout the session. When Avalanche reporter Aarif Deen attempted to ask whether Colorado could take any positives from scoring twice late rather than being shut out, MacKinnon cut him off before the question was finished.

"I've just said execution like five times. I think that's what hurts," MacKinnon said. Deen addressed the exchange on social media afterward, noting it was a fine question and that MacKinnon is simply a fierce competitor who wants to win. 

The moment nonetheless captured exactly how frustrated the Avalanche dressing room was after the final horn. Coach Jared Bednar echoed MacKinnon's frustration in his own postgame comments. "I thought it was good at times and not good enough at others," Bednar said. 

"I'd like to see the urgency and the relentlessness that we had in the third period earlier in the game, for longer stretches." The absence of Cale Makar loomed large throughout. Without their elite defenseman, Colorado's transition play was noticeably less clean.

Vegas, being the opportunists they are, quickly capitalized on multiple defensive miscommunications in the early stages to seize control. Carter Hart stopped 36 shots and benefited from 23 blocked shots in front of him. 

Meanwhile, Mitch Marner continued his extraordinary postseason form, adding to a point total that now leads the entire playoffs. Colorado did generate some positivity late. Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog scored, with MacKinnon assisting on a power play goal during a 6-on-4 advantage. 

But the Avalanche now face immediate pressure heading into Game 2 to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole on home ice before the series shifts to Vegas.